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The Curse

Despite already being geographically remote, architecturally confined, and socially isolated, the Lady of Shalott is further constricted by a mysterious curse that forbids her from looking to Camelot. Curiously, the Lady only knows that she isn’t supposed to look toward King Arthur’s court. She doesn’t know why, and she also doesn’t know what will happen if she does. This partial knowledge is connected to a broader motif of veiling and occlusion that keeps the Lady of Shalott both literally and figuratively in the dark, “half sick of shadows” (line 71). When she finally does look toward Camelot, she does so with an amorous gaze, having been awakened by the appearance of handsome Sir Lancelot. At this point in the poem, the purpose of the curse becomes clear. Though we don’t know who might have put it in place, it clearly exists to curb the Lady’s desire. But now that her desire has been awakened, the curse activates and leads ineluctably to her death. In this way, the curse symbolizes the threat of punishment that hangs over women in order to inhibit and control their desire.

The Crystal Mirror

Due to a mysterious curse that keeps her laboring at her loom both day and night, the Lady of Shalott depends on a crystal mirror to bring images of the outside world into her cramped quarters. The speaker describes this mirror in Part II (lines 46–50):

And moving thro’ a mirror clear
That hangs before her all the year,
Shadows of the world appear.
There she sees the highway near
       Winding down to Camelot

Hanging above her loom, the mirror enables the Lady to observe “shadows” of the outside world while she works. From this vantage she can see a highway that runs parallel to the river, “winding down to Camelot” (line 50). The Lady watches as a seemingly endless procession of ladies, clergy, shepherds, knights, and musicians trek toward the court. Yet none of these people come to her island, which is set into the river and hence inaccessible. Thus, despite enabling her to see these people, the crystal mirror also effectively distances her from them. In this way, the crystal mirror recalls Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave.” According to this story, recounted in The Republic, prisoners who are stuck in a cave have no access to reality other than via the shadows cast on the wall by a flickering fire. The Lady is similarly stuck in a world of mere shadows, contributing to her isolation and frustrated desire.

Camelot

If the river-bound island of Shalott is a place associated with isolation and remoteness, then “many-tower’d Camelot” (line 5) symbolizes a center of social activity and excitement. On the one hand, the Lady sees endless processions of different people walking along the road toward Camelot. Clergymen, ladies, musicians, and others all convene in this place, and the Lady watches longingly, wishing she could join their ranks and end her social isolation. On the other hand, Camelot carries a carnal charge. As the famous site of King Arthur’s court, Camelot is a distinctly masculine place populated by valiant knights. The speaker subtly references the court’s symbolic masculinity by describing it as “many-tower’d Camelot” (line 5). If the Lady is forbidden from looking to Camelot, it’s because looking would express her desire. This symbolism is confirmed with the arrival of handsome Sir Lancelot. The Lady’s draw to Lancelot is undeniably amorous, so when her gaze follows him toward Camelot, it’s guided by desire, which in turn activates the curse. In this way, Camelot’s masculine allure symbolizes the object of the Lady’s longing—a longing that the curse has rendered taboo and for which she is ultimately punished with death. 

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